site.btaSerbia Must Treat European Parliament with Respect, EP President Metsola Says

Serbia must treat the European Parliament (EP) and its members with respect, EP President Roberta Metsola said on Tuesday in an interview with the news agencies participating in the European Newsroom (ENR), including the Bulgarian News Agency. Metsola's statement was prompted by comments made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to MEPs who attended a protest in Novi Sad on Friday.

Metsola, in response to a request from journalists to comment on the current situation in Serbia, said that she had made it very clear to every head of state and government that European Parliament Members and the institution they represent should be treated with respect. She added that she had spoken to the prime ministers of the Member States on the issue and will discuss it with Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic as well.

Several thousand people gathered in Novi Sad on Friday demanding early elections, in the latest of a wave of student protests in Serbia triggered by the collapse of the canopy of the city's railway station in November, which killed 16 people. The protesters believe that corruption led to the tragedy. Their demands for a transparent investigation and criminal prosecution turned into calls for early elections.

In his address after the protest in Novi Sad, Vucic said that the demonstrators were "aided by scum from the European Green Party, the worst European scum, who came to Novi Sad tonight to support this violence." He added that the MEPs who attended the protest would be prosecuted in accordance with Serbian law.

Two parliamentary groups in the European Parliament condemned the police violence at the protest in Novi Sad and the insults directed at the Greens by the Serbian President.

In the ENR interview, Metsola announced that she is due to meet with Brnabic on Friday morning.